Happy New Year, Draco
by LoopyZoop
Summary: It wasn't a large diamond and it certainly wasn't what most pictured when they thought of engagement rings. But there was something beautiful about it that didn't exactly make sense, but it reminded him of the way lighthearted, lightheaded, way he felt when Draco was laughing. Or smiling. Or shagging him into the mattress. (EWE)


"A ring."

"Yes, a ring. A good one."

Harry stood in dismay, looking around the sleek and posh shop they had just stepped into. He ran a hand through his hair nervously as Hermione appeared beside him, shaking the snow out of her auburn curls and smiling. She scanned the shelves and glass enclosed cases with careful eyes, and tucked her gloves away in her coat pocket.

"Well I'm not exactly an expert, Hermione," Harry replied testily. "So if you could give me an idea as in which way to go..."

The pair approached the case closest to the door, Hermione silencing him with a look and pursed lips. It was filled with sparkling jewel crested tiaras and necklaces that flashed and glittered as if showing themselves off to each customer. Harry eyed them worriedly - they were flashy, heavy items that even some of the wealthiest wizards wouldn't bother to indulge in, and some even levitated or glowed for good measure. They looked like something that Pansy might have gotten herself... if given enough galleons.

"Here they are," Hermione interrupted his thoughts, having moved to the back end of the shop where the register sat.

"What?"

"The rings," she implored, pointing at the three shelves she had been gazing at with a curious expression.

Harry tried to shake the panic rising in his throat, instead moving to meet her and wiping his clammy hands on his trousers. He was just looking, he had nothing to be nervous about. He peered in at the diamond rings all lined up beside their inordinate price tags, glittery and catching the light. Most of them were excessively extravagant, but the few that didn't blind him were almost tasteful.

When he agreed to run errands with his best friend that morning, this had never been his plan. Sure, he was in the market for a ring for his boyfriend slash hopefully-soon-to-be-fiancé Draco Malfoy, and he had mentioned that to Ron and Hermione the last evening they had gotten together and cracked open a bottle of fire whiskey, laughing and confessing into the wee hours of the morning. Ever since that night Hermione had been urging him into every jewellery shop in London, insisting there was 'no time like the present', and usually, Harry could worm his way out of it. It just so happened that this was a unique case, and no amount of pleading and everything short of dragging his feet on the sidewalk could stop the tornado that was Hermione Granger.

"This one's nice," Hermione murmured, tapping the glass with a sky blue coloured nail. "You wanted green, Draco likes green."

"Not _that_ green. That's too light." Harry shook his head at the plain silver band dotted with almost mint green stones.

Hermione nodded in absent-minded agreement, shuffling down to take in more of the selection. "And this one?" she asked, pointing at another.

"Too plain."

Hermione aimed her finger once more.

"Not plain enough."

"Well you're certainly not making this easy," Hermione laughed, giving her friend a lighthearted nudge.

Harry cracked a sideways smile. Everything that he saw didn't feel right, and maybe she was right... but wasn't there supposed to be a click? Wasn't he supposed to have some brilliant _aha_! moment when he spied the one? He wanted the ring that represented everything that he wanted to say, but couldn't compose into words or writing. He wasn't stupid, but he was no poet and he didn't want to bugger this up.

"Hermione, it's got to be... perfect. How'd you feel when you got your ring from Ron?" Harry asked.

Hermione flushed, smiling and glancing out the window to the busy street where snow had begun to fall. She didn't speak, but her expression and content sigh said it all.

"Exactly."

Harry tucked his hands in his jacket sleeves as the pair walked, weaving in and out of the crowds of holiday shoppers. "You know it's hopeless."

Bells chimed somewhere in the distance and Hermione sighed wearily. "You can't expect to find a ring in the first shop you go into. That's the point of looking."

Harry squeezed between a young boy and a steaming cart piled high with snacks and hot chocolate, shoes sliding on the pavement. He was tired, shivering, and he really wanted to curl up in bed with a cuppa and a crossword. "It just seems like... none of them are ever going to be the one. Do you know what I mean?"

Hermione nodded, conceding, as a small grin crept on to her face. "You said that about getting a boyfriend or girlfriend as well," she reminded him.

Okay, so he _had_ said that. He probably said it a thousand times, although not all out loud, while Ron had been setting him up with birds he met at the ministry who had all been nice enough. But that was just it; they were nice enough, he guessed. Nothing special. Sometimes they were pretty, sometimes not so much. But he was Harry bloody Potter and he was not one for giving up or settling down and so he waited, and he worked with Draco Malfoy. One thing led to another and now here he was a year and a half later, roaming through wizarding shops praying that he could find an engagement ring that suited the stupid git.

"Here?"

Harry looked up at the store window that Hermione had come to a stop in front of. She looked sympathetic and she was practically forcing optimism into her expression as her eyes travelled up to the sign blowing and creaking in the winter wind. "Maybe it's a bit too... run down," she acknowledged after a moment.

Harry interrupted her. "It can't hurt to try," he granted.

They pushed through the faded and splintered white door into the warmth of the shop, a gust of air heating and flushing Harry's face (which could be attributed to the fact that he could very well be proposing to a Malfoy within the week, but regardless).

The dark haired man looked around, noticing the only other person in the store was the fat, balding man situated behind the counter on a wooden stool while flipping through The Daily Prophet and looking bored. He had a grey moustache that he reached up to scratch every once and a while.

"Afternoon," Hermione greeted pleasantly, surveying the walls of expensive vases, necklaces, bracelets, and other various lavishly decorated items. "Could you point me towards your rings?"

The shopkeeper lifted his gaze from the newspaper in his hand, his expression unchanging. "Back case," he grunted, jerking a thumb towards the last glass cabinet.

Harry's eyebrows knit together in confusion, but Hermione remained unfazed. The man seemed in an awfully bad mood for someone who could be making hundreds of galleons in one purchase, but maybe he was just sour from the rubbish he was reading. Rita Skeeter had, after all, been pumping out some of the most ludicrous content since Harry was in The Triwizard Tournament, and who would want to spend their afternoon reading _that_?

They spent a moment looking at massive shining diamonds before Hermione turned back around. He hadn't much time to look at any of them, but Harry followed suit anyways.

"We're looking for a men's engagement ring," she said. "Not too showy, not too simple. Maybe even in green?"

"Emerald, to be exact," Harry chimed in helpfully.

The owner leaned back on his chair, dropping the Prophet and pulling on his chin. "I've got one or two in emerald. One male. On sale, too, the style isn't popular... I'll give it to you for 650."

Harry nodded enthusiastically and the man stood, shuffling to the back. He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the display case, reaching along the bottom and pulling out a velvet box with a gold and emerald band tucked in it.

When presented in the light, it was easier to see the minute details that weren't obvious when the glass stood between the ring and Harry's eye. The gold made a solid band that split diagonally on the top, and a small, long line of emerald stone was melded into it, tying the ring together in a way that was classy and not too showy. It was so small that one may not even recognize it, if they weren't looking close enough.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, her eyes creased and concerned. "What is it?"

"How much did you say, again?" Harry ignored the question, instead facing the owner head on.

He looked between the ring he was holding and Harry. "650. It's a _steal_. Original price was 860."

Harry licked his lips, keeping his focus straight ahead and wringing his hands. It wasn't a large diamond and it certainly wasn't what most pictured when they thought of engagement rings. But there was something beautiful about it that didn't exactly make sense, but it reminded him of the way lighthearted, lightheaded, way he felt when Draco was laughing. Or smiling. Or shagging him into the mattress.

"I'll take it."

Hermione nearly choked on her own breath at that, her mouth falling open. "Wait, Harry! Are you serious?"

"That's _it_, Mione!" Harry exclaimed, grabbing his best friends shoulders excitedly. "That's got to be it, it has to be!" His eyes were almost frantic when he spoke.

Hermione blinked in shock, taking a stumbling step backwards. "Brilliant... Great, I'm just... This seems a bit abrupt, you have to admit."

"Well I'm not going to waste any time if I've found the one I've been looking for all afternoon, am I?"

The curly haired girl shook her head, eyes not meeting Harry's. "Well, I guess not... but-"

"I'll take it, that's the one," he referred to the owner quickly before returning to Hermione once again. "I knew that I'd know it when I saw it. I knew what I was looking for, I just hadn't really figured it out yet," Harry told her.

"You're sure about this?" Hermione questioned firmly.

"I'm positive. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, Hermione, you're brilliant."

-:-

Harry was used to expensive parties in his and Draco's flat with too many guests that he didn't know and not nearly enough wine to get comfortable with them. Although they were few and far between, he still grumbled when they came around and rarely could he enjoy them.

But this was different, because they had decided that New Years would be different.

The guest list was simple: Ron, Hermione, Blaise, Pansy, Ginny, Theo, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Luna. Just the friends that they actually cared about and Harry never felt inclined to study up before seeing. They had invited George and Bill and Fleur, but the rest of the Weasleys had decided on yet another impromptu Christmas trip to Romania.

Harry hadn't really minded - he wasn't a firm believer in the more the merrier.

So they got some of the best food from their favourite Italian restaurant, some wine and champagne from the muggle shop in London that Draco had taken a shining too in the past couple of months, and an armload of stupid party hats that Harry insisted were necessary as he kept sneaking them into their shopping bag.

The party, while small, was never dull, and as the night wore on and the friends got drunker everyone's smiles just got bigger and bigger. Soon Harry was grinning ear to ear, laughing and sitting on the floor between Draco's legs while the blonde absently threaded his fingers through Harry's hair.

Midnight soon crept up on them and the New Year was barrelling towards them like a train, taking Harry's breath away when he glanced up at the clock only to realize it was 11:57.

"C'mon," Harry mumbled, grabbing on to Draco's hand and leading him off in the direction of the kitchen.

"Uh oh!" Seamus called, swallowing a burp from the bubbling wine. He waved his glass in the air and grinned mischievously. "Looks like they're off for their midnight kiss!" His teasing shout was followed by a couple of stray woops which Harry decided to pointedly ignored as he shoved his boyfriend through the kitchen.

"Harry, it's almost midnight," Draco whined, glancing in the direction of the party in their living room.

"Exactly."

Harry opened up the sliding door to their back balcony. The same balcony where they drank their post-work fire whiskey, unwinding and making cracks about their bosses together. The same balcony where Harry had kissed him last New Year's, wrapping his protective arms around Draco, and the same balcony where they had coffee and watched the sun rise.

"Hey... alright, alright. You're going to make me miss midnight twice in a row, then?" Draco complained, glancing over his shoulder as Harry pushed him out from behind.

"Just... wait," Harry grunted, reaching behind and pulling the door shut behind the pair.

Draco had turned to face Harry, still opening his mouth to complain once again with an impatient hand on his hip. "You've really got to stop-"

"Draco."

"As much as I like kissing you, it's very possible to kiss you at 12:01 and have it be just as nice-"

"Draco."

"And... wait, what?" Draco stopped, brow creasing.

Harry smile was wide when he laughed. "Turn around."

Draco's expression softened, the light from the dozens of glowing, flickering balls of flame dancing around them in patterns and lines lighting his face. His mouth made a very small 'o' shape and his eyes studied the burning spheres. Harry moved them in a line with his wand, forming them into a circle around their heads as deftly as he could manage with his shaking hands. It seemed that everything about him was shaking - even his knee as he dropped down on to it.

Harry fumbled with the box, lifting it up in an offering to the blonde as he popped it open.

His mouth was as dry as parchment and he wasn't sure if he could even find his tongue to make words anymore. He could hear the music and shouts as his best friends realized it was almost time to count down inside. The last seconds of the year were ticking away while Harry fought the tingling numbness in his extremities and the fact that his stomach was twisting and tying itself into knots. He couldn't think of a time when he felt more nervous; not even walking to his own death at the Battle.

"I'm aware I've dragged you from the party," Harry started, down to the last twenty seconds."But I wasn't sure if you'd want me to do this inside. I.. It's hard to put my feelings into words, but... the past year and a half has been the most amazing time of my life. And I've known that you're the one for a while - maybe I knew it all along. But I'm in love with you, Draco Malfoy. And I want to spend every second of every day with you, you prat."

5 seconds.

"So I guess what I'm asking is... will you marry me?"

1 second.

"Oh my god... yes."

A chorus of '_Happy New Year!_'s echoed when Harry slid the ring on to his fiancé's finger and the pop of fireworks sounded somewhere in the distance. Their city was alive with midnight celebrations and through the window they could see confetti poppers and champagne being poured that they would have to clean in the morning.

Harry stood, wrapping Draco in a crushing embrace at the sight of the tears rolling down the blonde's cheeks.

"Harry..." Draco managed to get out. "I love you. I... I love you so much."

He pushed the raven haired man back, gripping his face in both hands for a deep, warm kiss that tasted vaguely like salt, sweets, and alcohol.

When Harry finally broke the kiss, unable to stop the giant, stupid grin on his face, he bit down on his lip nervously. "So, what do you think?"

"About the fact that the boyfriend that I want to spend the rest of my life with just proposed to me? I think it's pretty fucking excellent."

Harry laughed, picking up Draco's left hand in his. "No, you prat. I meant about the ring. What do you think of the ring?"

Draco's eyes dropped to it, watching the way the emerald twinkled under the firelight Harry had produced earlier. He forced his lips back together, trying his best not to sniffle and sound like a little girl. After a pregnant pause, he swallowed and nodded.

"It's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful."

He leaned in and kissed Harry once again.


End file.
